//------------------------------// // Jaunedice (Rewritten) // Story: SAPR // by Scipio Smith //------------------------------// Jaunedice Jaune regarded Sunset with a mixture of envy and relief. Envy because, well, who wouldn't be envious after everything what she – and Yang, and Weiss and Blake – had just done? The four of them were the talk of the freshman class and beyond for what they'd done in the Emerald Forest that morning. At lunch, one of the upperclassmen – Velvet Scarlatina, a second year who was being forced to retake Modern History with the first-years – had come up to their table to congratulate Yang and Sunset on what they'd managed to achieve. They'd taken down an apex alpha beowolf, and in doing so, they had stopped a grimm horde, and the fact that it was only a little one didn't change the fact that it was a horde. And they had stopped it. And they were only first-years! Sunset certainly seemed cognisant of the scale of her achievement. She had barely stopped preening since she returned from the forest. She had tasted success and apparently found it very sweet indeed. Yes, Jaune envied her… but at the same time, he was relieved that it was only the team leaders who had been deployed to combat the grimm threat and not the whole team. Jaune was sitting at one of the two desks set against the dorm room wall; this meant that he could look at Sunset on her bed without getting in the way of anyone else. He felt tired. He always felt tired these days; he knew that he wasn't getting enough sleep. That morning he hadn't been able to go on a run with Pyrrha because he'd slept like a log until every other member of the team had been washed and dressed and Sunset had had to toss him physically out of bed and onto the floor in order to wake him up before the whole team missed breakfast. He remembered yesterday morning, and the way that he had nearly collapsed. If he had been sent into the Emerald Forest the same thing might have happened again, his weariness catching up with him, maybe at the same time as the grimm did. But as he imagined what might have happened if he'd been there, Jaune found that it wasn't the possibility of his own death at the hands of the grimm that concerned him most. Jaune's gaze flickered from Sunset to Pyrrha, who was sitting on her own bed watching Sunset. He remembered the way that she had looked during her duel with Sunset – in all her fights in the sparring ring, but especially against Sunset – so strong, so powerful… and so kind, too, the way that she had rushed back to him yesterday when she thought there might be something wrong with him. If they had been out in the forest together then Pyrrha would have protected him, even at the cost of her own safety. And that was the problem: if she'd been hurt or worse because he wasn't strong enough to stand alongside her then… he couldn't bear so much as the thought of that. That was why he had to get stronger. "It was a pretty good plan," Ruby acknowledged. "But-" "But it was also pretty stupid at the same time, yes, I know," Sunset said. "And I want you to know that I didn't intentionally put Yang-" "That wasn't what I was going to say," Ruby said; like Jaune she was sitting at the desks instead of on her bed. Her chair was reversed, and she was leaning forward with her arms resting upon the back. Sunset's eyebrows rose. "No?" Ruby shook her head. "We're huntsmen. Risks like that are part of what we accept." Sunset looked at Ruby for a moment in silence. "You know, I can see why your sister worries about you." Ruby looked surprised to hear it. "Yang… worries about me?" "She thinks you need someone to rein in your self-sacrificing tendencies," Sunset said. "I got us into trouble because I hadn't thought about how we were going to get out once we'd killed the commander, but you just wouldn't care about that, would you?" "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices," Ruby declared, sounding much older than her fifteen years. "There are bigger things in the world than ourselves, and we have to be willing not just to fight for them but also… to die for them." "You are correct, of course," Pyrrha murmured. "But that you can speak of it so calmly… it speaks well of your courage, Ruby, but at the same time… it troubles me." "You're not the only one," Sunset muttered. Ruby frowned. "If you think I'm right then what's the problem?" "The fact that we don't want to lose you," Jaune suggested. Pyrrha chuckled very softly. "Perhaps… perhaps that is all it is." She got up, and crossed the room to where Ruby sat. Pyrrha smiled down at her as she reached out, and ran one hand through Ruby's hair. "One so young and fair as you should not court death with such eagerness." "I'm not courting anyone," Ruby replied. "I don't want to die, I just… I don't see the point in pretending that I feel differently to how I do." "Here's the thing about sacrifice," Sunset lectured. "You can only do it once. Sure, you can sacrifice yourself to save the village, but you won't be around to save it again from the next lot of grimm that show up." She hesitated. "Listen, Ruby, admitting that I have faults is not easy for me so I'm only going to say this once: if Professor Goodwitch hadn't shown up when she did me and Yang and Weiss would all be dead right now because I hadn't come up with an escape plan. I should have come up with that plan before we set off, and if I couldn't I should have just joined the others taking the horde head on." "But you wouldn't have stopped it," Ruby replied. "But we would have lived," Sunset insisted. "And who wouldn't have because the horde kept moving?" Ruby asked. “No one,” Sunset said. “Because at the end of the day the Defence Forces and the huntsman and the navy would have taken care of it and I was an idiot to forget that. I wanted to play the hero, but I should have played it safe instead.” "As huntsmen, we can't always afford to play it safe." "Judging by what Professor Goodwitch had to say, I think as team leader it might be my job to play it safe," Sunset said. She climbed off her bed and, like Pyrrha, crossed the room towards Ruby. She put her hand on Ruby's shoulder, and gave it a squeeze. "Because I've got your life in my hands, and I… I mean to take good care of it." "I don't want to die!" Ruby protested. "And I don't want you to think that… I'm glad you came back safe," she said, grabbing Sunset's arm with both hands as she smiled up at her partner. "I meant what I said, to you and Blake on the night before Initiation: I hope that we'll all live happily ever after. But dying doesn't scare me, and I'd rather give my life than fail in my mission." "I'm sure you would," Sunset said softly, as she knelt down in front of Ruby. "I just hope that you choose a tale with a happier ending than the Song of Olivia to model yourself after. Or at least listen to your Roland when she talks sense." Ruby chuckled. "I'll try." "You have the heart of a true huntress, beyond all doubt," said Pyrrha, as she rubbed Ruby's back with one hand. "But that same heart, the light that shines within you is a…" Pyrrha glanced down at Sunset. "It is a gift to the world, one you should not be so eager to deprive the world of, or your friends." "I'm not!" Ruby insisted. "You guys don't understand what I'm saying." "We do," Sunset replied. "We're just still a little less than happy about it." She rose to her feet. "But fine, we won't harangue you any further." "I think," Ruby said, "that the reason we get put on teams is so that we don't have to choose; so that we can make it through because we've got each other." Jaune felt ill, sick and sick at heart of this reminder of his own inadequacy. As he was now, how was he supposed to help any of them to survive? He got up from his seat and started towards the door. "Where do you think you're going?" Sunset demanded, in a voice drained of all the affection that it had previously contained when addressing Ruby. Jaune froze in place. "Out," he said. "Onto the rooftop again?" Jaune turned around to face Sunset. "How do you-" "Weiss complained about the noise, apparently she can hear you up there night after night," Sunset informed him. "She thinks that you're… " she glanced at Ruby. "Doing something that it would be inappropriate to mention in this company." "Ugh!" Jaune cried, revolted. "That's not it!" "I'm glad to hear it," Sunset said dryly. "But whatever you're actually doing it's going to stop. Stop disturbing her sleep, and stop trying to ask her out, have some self-respect for Celestia's sake." "I haven't asked Weiss out in a week," Jaune retorted. I'm trying to get stronger so that I can be worthy of her. "I'm glad to hear that, too, keep it up," Sunset snapped. "And stay off the roof." "Why should I?" "Because I told you to," Sunset said. "Because I made an agreement with Weiss that is going to get Cardin off our backs, don't you want that?" "Yes, but…" Jaune hesitated, wondering how he could explain that there would be no point in being protected from Cardin if he couldn't train to improve his skills. "Look, I don't know what it is that you're really doing up on that roof and I don't care," Sunset snapped. "I have made an agreement with Weiss and if I can't keep it then I look weak. That's not happening. Furthermore, in case you haven't noticed I have been carrying you through all the classes you suck at – you’re welcome for those essays, by the way-" "I never asked you to do my homework for me," Jaune snapped. "You weren't doing it yourself, were you?" Sunset yelled. "Inaction, let me remind you, for which I am on the hook just as much as you are. And it's getting to the point where you're even starting to fall behind in the classes you originally showed some promise in, and I can't carry you through those. I can't write your essays on Plant Science or Fieldcraft, because I'm struggling there myself. So sit down, pen to paper, and start on that essay for Doctor Oobleck-" "Why?" Jaune demanded. "How is any of that going to help me stop… how is any of that going to help me become a huntsman? How is any of that going to help me become a part of this team?" "You're already a part of this team, Jaune," Ruby said. Jaune gave her a weak and sickly smile. "Thanks, Ruby, but we all know that's not true," he said, as he opened the door and stepped outside. "Don't you walk away from me when I'm-" Sunset began, before the slam of the door cut her off. Jaune's steps quickened as he walked away, until he was running. "-when I'm yelling at you!" Sunset finished as the door slammed closed. She growled wordlessly. No way am I going to let him give Weiss cause to think that I can't handle my own team. "That…" she started towards the door herself. "Wait," Pyrrha called to her, her voice making Sunset stop in her tracks. "Please," Pyrrha continued. "Wait a moment. Ruby, what is Jaune doing up on the roof?" Sunset turned around to see that Ruby was looking up at Pyrrha. "I… he doesn't want anyone to know," she said plaintively. "I understand," Pyrrha agreed. "But I'm afraid we may be a little past that now." "I'll say," Sunset muttered. Ruby looked at Sunset. "Did you have to be so hard on him?" "I could turn that around and ask why you two go so easy on him?" Sunset responded. "I'm keeping his grades afloat and that protects me; it means I won't get into any trouble because one of my team isn't turning in their essays, but I'm not doing him any favours by it and you're not doing anyone on this team any favours by pretending that he doesn't have issues." "I know," Pyrrha conceded. "And I should have acted before now." She looked down at Ruby. "Please, Ruby, what does Jaune do on the roof?" Ruby squirmed uncomfortably. "He's… he's training," she admitted. "Training?" Pyrrha repeated. "By himself?" Ruby nodded. "That explains the books," Sunset murmured. "It doesn't seem to be helping him much." "I have to say that isn't too surprising, with nobody to learn from," Pyrrha said softly. "Will you both excuse me for a little while?" Sunset stepped away from the door. "You want to make him your responsibility, be my guest." Pyrrha nodded. "Thank you," she said. To Ruby, she added, "Thank you for telling me. You did nothing wrong by it, and Jaune will understand that." She walked to the door, opened it, and closed it gently behind her as she stepped out into the corridor. Sunset sighed as she ran both hands through her hair. "I hope she has the steel to take him in hand and doesn't lose heart," she said. "Anyway, I need to get that essay for Doctor Oobleck done myself." She pulled out a chair at the desk, and reached for her bag. "Hey, Sunset?" Sunset looked up at Ruby. "Yeah?" "If I stopped doing my homework would you do it for me?" Ruby said, with a cheeky grin. Sunset's eyes narrowed. "There are limits to the tolerance that even you can inspire," she declared. "However, I am willing to lend you a hand, so what's the issue?" "The issue is everything," Ruby groaned. "I… I have no idea how to handle this essay for Doctor Oobleck." Sunset scooted her chair across the room until she was sitting next to Ruby. "The one about the repercussions of the Faunus Rights Revolution?" Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I mean, I know that we have to talk about faunus rights, but-" "No, you don't," Sunset said, cutting her off. "Everyone is going to talk about faunus rights because it's obvious, but if you want to impress Doctor Oobleck and get a top grade you should do what I did and write about depopulation and grimm incursions." She had written about faunus rights in Jaune's essay, because that kind of obvious thinking was doubtless exactly what Doctor Oobleck would expect from Jaune Arc. Ruby blinked. "Come again?" Sunset rocked back in her chair, resting it upon its back legs as she folded her arms. "Right, so you know about the Great War, right?" "Uh… kinda?" It occurred to Sunset Shimmer that one of the disadvantages of being admitted to Beacon two years early on the basis of your enviable combat prowess might be that you missed two years of academic study. It also occurred to her that this might explain Ruby's atrocious grades. "How many classes have you felt as though you didn't know the basics that the course started out with?" "Um… most of them? Not Professor Port's class, but-" "You should have said something sooner," Sunset said, although it also occurred to her that she, Sunset, could have asked Ruby what the issue with her grades was sooner. And perhaps Ruby just didn't want to admit that she had a problem. Sunset knew the taste of that dish well enough; pride could drive you to do any number of things no matter how foolish or… unhelpful. She lifted up her legs; her chair flopped forwards with her in it. "I'm afraid it might be too late for quarter-terms, but we'll see if we can't get you up to speed by midterm exams." "What are you saying?" "I'm saying I'm going to tutor you up to level, obviously," Sunset said. She was, after all, a genius and a genius with consistently high grades. How hard could it be to teach Ruby, so long as she wanted to learn? "Really?" Sunset nodded. "I'm not as gifted with a weapon as you, but I know a little about what it's like to be so talented at this one thing that you get put on the fast track, and find that you have to scramble to catch up with everything that isn't that one thing." "You mean your semblance?" Ruby asked. "Yes," Sunset answered. "My semblance, exactly. Now, my teacher was very kind and patient, and she spent her time helping me learn everything, not just my semblance but everything that I'd missed. I don't think the teachers here are going to be as considerate, but I'll see what I can do to pick up the slack." Ruby smiled. "Your teacher sounds like a lovely person. You must have been pretty close." Sunset fell silent. A lovely person. Sure, I thought so at the time. "We were, once," she murmured. "Very close, but then…" Then she betrayed me, and tried to steal away the very dreams that she had nurtured in me. "Sunset?" Ruby prompted her. "I… let's just say that there's a reason I left home," Sunset said gruffly. "I'd rather not talk about it." "Sorry," Ruby murmured. "I didn't mean to…" "I know," Sunset replied, "but… let's start with this essay, and why it is a colossally stupid idea to fight two colossal wars back to back." It was Sunset's opinion that, as important as it might have been for the faunus themselves, the more important consequence of the Faunus Rights Revolution was to cement the territorial losses of the Great War and make it impossible for humanity to retake the lands lost to the grimm during that conflict. Rather than focus on rebuilding after the war, Mistral had decided to pander to the worst elements of its population and indulge a quixotic attempt to prove that it was still a military Great Power; and worse it had abused the letter of the Vytal Treaty to force Mantle and Vale to aid them in the endeavour. To the losses of the Great War had been added the casualties inflicted by wily faunus, whose troops had been seasoned in the Great War while many of the human forces were untested conscripts. "General Lagune's army was four times the size of the faunus forces at Fort Castle," Sunset explained. "But what those numbers conceal is that the faunus army was made of experienced veterans, while Lagune was leading kids your age given pikes and muskets and marched off to war because by that point they were the only ones left. In the Faunus War, you were an old soldier if you were my age. And then Lagune's army was destroyed outright, and, well, there was no one left to march to war. So you see, that's why we're in the state we're in right now. That's why the kingdoms are so small, that's why huntsmen are always on the back foot against the grimm that are absolutely everywhere, and that's why expansion efforts have always failed: because mankind nearly tore itself to pieces over twenty years, and the population still hasn't fully recovered yet." She paused, and she couldn't help but think of Pyrrha's hopes, her own ambitions beside which Sunset's were cast into shadow. Thus placed in their historical context they seemed quixotic in the extreme, hopeless fantasies besides which the dream of ascension or a crown seemed grounded. Humanity could retake the world? Defeat the grimm for good and all? They hadn't managed it yet and Pyrrha, while good, wasn't good enough to make up for all the unborn shadows who should have fought by her side but never would. "The point is," she said. "That this is why we have to fight, because y-" she stopped herself from saying 'your ancestors'. "Because our ancestors fought too much. Actually, no, the point is that if you put that in your essay Doctor Oobleck will think you're really clever. Do you understand?" "Sort of." Sunset picked up a pen from off Ruby's desk. "I'll write your introduction for you, and then you can make a go of the rest." The moonlight shone through the library windows, bathing both Weiss and Flash in silvery light as they sat at a table together. Weiss was glad of the moonlight, because otherwise the library was very dark. It was late, after dinner time, and although there was no strict curfew for students at Beacon they were past the point at which most students bothered to visit the library. Weiss had been spending a fair number of her evenings in the library lately; it was easier to work in here, where the absence of other students produced a crypt-like silence, than in her dorm room where Jaune Arc's incessant huffing and puffing on the roof above provided a constant soundtrack to the nights. Sunset Shimmer might think that Weiss hadn't done enough to restrain Cardin Winchester, but Weiss thought she was to be congratulated for the fact that Cardin hadn't climbed up onto the roof and thrown Jaune off it already for his constant disturbing of the peace. Notwithstanding the agreement that she had made with Sunset, Weiss had come to the library again tonight because this was an important essay due for history, and she didn't entirely trust Sunset to keep her word. Weiss had had a word with Cardin, of course, because a Schnee did keep her word even if a member of the lower orders did not, but if she had the option to do her homework in peace then she was going to take it. Of course she was not alone; Flash was with her, but then he was also capable of working quietly. And there were advantages to working alone with someone else; without him there the silent emptiness of the library might have felt impressive, instead of just what she needed to get her work done. "How was it out there, if you don't mind me asking?" Weiss looked up from her textbook. Flash was looking at her, and in the moonlight his blue eyes looked particularly bright. "You mean in the forest?" Weiss asked. Flash nodded. "You were there yourself just a few weeks ago," Weiss reminded him. "I know," Flash replied, "but still… how was it?" Weiss hesitated for a moment. She hadn't talked about the leadership exercise with her team. Cardin and Russell hadn't seemed particularly interested, and it seemed that Flash had been waiting for a moment alone with her. She pursed her lips together. "We were overconfident," she admitted. "If it hadn't been for Professor Goodwitch…" She left the rest unspoken. Flash heard it loud and clear regardless, or seemed to. "Seriously?" Weiss nodded curtly. "The grimm were numerous, and very strong." "That isn't how the rest of the school seems to see it," Flash said. "The rest of the school wasn't there," Weiss said, in a voice as sharp as the tip of Myrtenaster. Flash bowed his head for a moment, and nodded. "I know. I'm sorry." "No, I'm sorry," Weiss said quickly. "It isn't your fault, it's just… I have talents, and I am well aware of the fact. I am a talented huntress, and I consider myself a fair singer, too, and I have no problem being praised for those talents. But I'm well aware that even if I were as poor a huntress as… as Jaune Arc, there would still be those who would tell me I was more skilled than Pyrrha Nikos because my name was Schnee and they sought my favour, or more likely my father's favour through me. Professor Goodwitch was right to grade us five out of ten, and I don't need flatterers to tell me otherwise. Just like I don't need to be given victories in the sparring ring." "You're talking about Sunset, now," Flash said. "She didn't show herself in her full glory against me," Weiss declared. "Perhaps I would have won anyway, but I don't know because she held back. Did you know that she was hiding so much power?" she demanded. "No," Flash said emphatically. "I had no idea. At Canterlot… she was average in combat. She was always gifted academically, only Twilight was smarter than her, but her combat skills were middle of the pack." Weiss leaned back in her chair. "Why?" she asked. "Why hide her true strength for so long, only to reveal it now?" "I don't know why she'd hide it," Flash replied. "Sunset… I never would have thought that she was the type of person to hide anything that made her stand out. Quite the reverse. Which means, since I can't tell why she hid in the first place, I can't tell you why she stopped hiding either." "Perhaps," Weiss mused, "It's simply that her semblance is so incredibly powerful that she knew that it would inspire fear in others." "Does it… are you afraid of her?" Flash asked, his gentle tone infused with disbelief. "I… am a little nervous," Weiss admitted. "What if she joined the White Fang? Think of how much damage she could do." "So faunus aren't allowed to be gifted in case they join the White Fang?" Flash replied, disapproval evident in his tone. "We’re not talking about any faunus, we’re talking about a faunus with a chip on her shoulder and a temper," Weiss explained. "You're from Atlas, you know about the incessant attacks that the White Fang has waged against our kingdom, against the SDC, against my family." "Yes," Flash said, his voice sounding as though his throat had constricted a little. "I do know all about that." Weiss was very still for a moment, as she understood why he sounded that way. "Who did you lose?" she asked, her voice soft and gentle. "My father," he admitted, "in the Crystal City Bombings, three years ago." Weiss slid her hands across the table towards him. "Oh, Gods… I'm so sorry." She took his hand in hers. "But then… how is it that you could… " "The White Fang aren't the faunus," Flash replied, even as he did not pull his hand away from hers. "I don't allow myself to forget that. Being at Canterlot… my mother didn't approve of there being so many faunus students there, but it made it easier to remember that it was the White Fang, not the faunus, who killed my father, because I could just look across the cafeteria and see faunus who would never do anything like that, because their souls wouldn't allow it." Weiss glanced away, as she remembered Laberna, the faunus nanny who had taken care of her when she was young. "When the White Fang abandoned non-violent protest, my father dismissed all of his faunus household staff," she explained. "I… I haven't seen a faunus between then and when I came to Beacon. Perhaps if I had… I wouldn't have been so quick to make myself look bad in comparison to you." "You didn't," Flash assured her. "It's not your fault." Weiss smiled, if only for a moment. "You're very kind," she said quietly. So kind, in fact, that she was finding it increasingly hard to believe that he had broken up with Sunset Shimmer on the grounds of her race. But that was his business, not hers. He had shown her himself; he didn't have to reveal to her all his secrets on top of that. Weiss hadn't come to Beacon to find a romantic partner, but if she had… she thought she could probably have done worse than the young man sitting in front of her. But she had not come to Beacon to find a romantic partner. And right now she had work to do. Cardin Winchester stood at the window and brooded on the injustice of the world. At least insofar as it was directed at Cardin Winchester. Injustice was not a thing with which Cardin had been much acquainted in his life prior to coming to Beacon; as the son and heir of the elite Winchester family he had known that success awaited him in whatever walk of life he chose to make a career in. His grandfather was the Lord Chief Justice of the kingdom, his father was Permanent Secretary to the Treasury. The Winchesters were thoroughly establishment and eminently respectable, and throughout his young life Cardin had seen how people respected that, responded to it, opened doors for it and for him. The Winchester connections had gotten him through Combat School, after he had failed the exam in Dust Science; his father had had a word with someone on the exam board and the results had been checked again, found to be over-harsh, and corrected to a more appropriate result. He had come to Beacon with no idea that such a pleasant state of affairs would not continue. Instead he had been rudely awakened, and given the largest taste of injustice that he had ever suffered in his life to date. It seemed at times that Beacon was a place established solely for the torment of Cardin Winchester; a place where everything he wanted, everything that he deserved, was paraded in front of him and then snatched away to be granted instead to someone else, someone less deserving, someone less than he in all respects. He had wanted to be a team leader, because if nothing else it was the kind of thing that looked good on your CV, demonstrating, as one might guess, leadership skills; that proud title had been denied to him and bestowed upon Weiss Schnee, a girl half his size and with arms like straws. Cardin would have suspected that Weiss had simply been more successful at utilising her name and connections if it weren't for the contemptible rag-bag of animals and nonentities upon whom Professor Ozpin had seen fit to bestow the other leadership positions. He had wanted Pyrrha Nikos for his partner, because who wouldn't want the honour of the Champion of Mistral fighting at their side? Instead that honour had gone to Jaune Arc, a useless runt who barely seemed conscious of what honour was done to him, of how lucky he was, or how unworthy he was even to be at Beacon, let alone be partnered up with the Invincible Girl. He had wanted a reputation for strength, resilience and competence. Instead, he got the impression he was lagging in the bottom half of the combat rankings while a faunus, a faunus, a sort of talking horse, dazzled all Remnant with her astonishing semblance. Her astonishing, a little unnerving semblance. How did a faunus become so powerful? By what right did she take so much… so much that should have been his. Sunset Shimmer, along with Weiss and Yang and Blake, was the talk of the school right now. Everyone was talking about what they'd done in the forest that morning. That should have been him! It should have been Cardin Winchester leading a team, Cardin Winchester breaking the grimm horde, Cardin Winchester earning the renown that was his due. The renown that Sunset Shimmer was taking from him. Sunset and Jaune, he hated them both, and the small revenges he inflicted on them for their great slights gave him little satisfaction. But even that small pleasure was to be denied him now by the word of Weiss Schnee, who presumed to command him like one of her father's faunus lackeys upon the word of an actual faunus. Sunset thought to put a leash on him, on him! On Cardin Winchester. If only there was something he could do, some way in which he could remind them that he was Cardin Winchester, and not to be taken lightly. And then, as he stood at the open window, Cardin began to hear the voices of Jaune and Pyrrha drifting down from the rooftop above. He was about to shut the window in disgust… when he realised that he was hearing something to his advantage. A slow smile spread across Cardin's face. Oh, yes; he had that little upstart now. Jaune sat on the roof, his head bowed, his legs wrapped around his knees. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard. Why was it so difficult for him? Why was he so far below everyone else? Pyrrha had told him that he had inherited the strength of his ancestors, but why wasn’t there any sign of it? His father, his grandfather, they’d all made it this far. They’d all become huntsmen, become heroes. Why was he failing at something they’d achieved so easily? Why was he so much less than everyone else in the world? What was he supposed to do now? His team leader hated him and thought that he was pathetic; his partner and his other teammate pitied him. The girl of his dreams couldn’t stand him. He was a failure. This was his dream… but it seemed as far away from him as the stars. “Jaune?” Pyrrha emerged onto the rooftop, her head turning this way and that as she looked for him. She was dressed in all her raiment of war, her gilded armour glimmering in the moonlight, the circlet shining bright upon her brow. She looked… magnificent. There was no other word to describe her that could do it justice. To call her beautiful would ignore her strength, to call her strong would ignore her beauty. She was a goddess of war, especially compared to a mere mortal like himself. “Pyrrha?” Jaune asked. “What are you doing here, and dressed like that?” Pyrrha turned to face him. She smiled, and there was a little relief in her voice as she said, “I thought that I might find you here. I’m glad I did.” She offered out her hand to him. Jaune hesitated. Then said, “I can get up by myself.” He scrambled onto his feet without any help from her. He could do that much, at least. “What are you doing here?” Pyrrha was silent for a moment. “Ruby… she tells me that you train up here,” she said. Jaune nodded. “Yeah, that’s right. Or at least I used to.” “I’m sure that Weiss only has a problem with it because of how long you’re here. Nobody is in bed at this early hour,” Pyrrha said gently. She walked to the edge of the rooftop, and then across it, counting her steps as she went. “Yes,” she murmured. “This will do.” Jaune narrowed his eyes. “This will do… for what?” “For your training,” Pyrrha said, as she turned to face him. “I understand that you want to improve, but training by yourself… I’m afraid that you’re just ingraining bad habits. That’s why I came here, to help you. You’ve chosen a good spot where we won’t be disturbed, and with… instruction, you won’t need to spend so long here that you’re exhausted come morning.” Jaune stared at her. “You… you want to be my teacher?” “I’m your partner and I want to help you,” Pyrrha clarified. She turned away, her ponytail swaying behind her as she moved. She stood upon the edge of the roof, looking out towards the emerald lights that glowed at the top of Beacon Tower. In the darkness it looked so very far away, completely out of reach, those green lights the only thing truly visible amidst the darkness. “Jaune, nobody is born great,” she reminded him, “some are born with more potential than others, but we achieve that potential through hard work and by being open to the assistance of others. I never would have made it to where I am without the… the support of my mother and my teachers.” She looked back at him. “I want to help you the way that so many others have helped me, to help you realise that potential that I see in you-” “Pyrrha, stop,” Jaune said. “You don’t need to pretend.” Pyrrha looked puzzled, and a little hurt as well. “I don’t understand.” “What potential?” Jaune demanded. “Your aura,” Pyrrha told him. “It burns as bright as an inferno, I’ve never experienced anything like it in my life. That is not nothing, it means something, I know it does. You have a destiny, Jaune, I’m certain of it. Please don’t turn your back on it after coming this far. Don’t lose hope after working so hard-” “I haven’t worked for anything!” Jaune cried, simply to stop her words cutting him like knives. “I didn’t go to Combat School and I certainly didn’t apprentice under my father. I faked my way in here. I got my hands on some fake transcripts to make it look like I was eligible, and I lied every step of the way: to the admissions office, to Professor Ozpin… to you.” He closed his eyes. “I don’t deserve your help.” Pyrrha was silent for a moment. Her voice, when it came, held nothing of condemnation. “And yet I offer it to you nonetheless.” Her kindness, her generosity, felt like salt upon the wound. “Well, I don’t want it!” Jaune snapped. “I’m supposed to be your partner, not your project or… or the millstone round your neck. If I can’t stand as your equal then… then I’m nothing.” He turned away from her. He could feel his eyes welling up with tears. “You should go,” he said. “Jaune-” “Go, please,” Jaune begged. “Leave me alone.” He glanced at her. He could see the hurt in her eyes, for all that she was trying not to show it on her face. It made him feel sick to his stomach but… but there was nothing he could do about it. He had said his piece, it could not be unsaid. “I… I see,” Pyrrha murmured. “I… I’ll leave you to it, then. Goodnight, Jaune.” She walked away slowly, head bowed, her ponytail drooping down her back. He wanted to go after her, he wanted to apologise, he wanted to call out to her and admit what an idiot he was. But he could not. His feet were stone, his mouth was stitched up shut. Jaune himself was turned to ice. Guilt chained him to this place and gagged him silent. He was her equal or he was nothing. And if that made him nothing… then why should nothing speak? What voice had nothing? What words could pass between a goddess and a man? He remained there, mired in guilt, as the sound of Pyrrha’s footsteps died away. What am I going to do? “Gutsy move there, Jaune,” Cardin declared, slapping Jaune on the back so hard that he staggered forwards a few feet. “C-Cardin!” Jaune exclaimed. “What are you…” "Weiss complained about the noise, apparently she can hear you up there night after night." Oh, no. “I heard everything from the window of my dorm room,” Cardin said. His face momentarily assumed a stern affect. “You know lying on official documentation for personal gain is fraud, right? You could get prison time for that.” Jaune’s eyes widened. “What are you going to do?” Cardin smirked. “The real question is what are you going to do… for me?” It was at that moment that Jaune understood just how badly he had messed this up.